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[Salvos] 720. The Archangel Part Three
🕑 Added 2024-09-15 15:05:54 +0000 UTC720. The Archangel Part Three
***
It was an incomprehensible sight to Edithe.
But it was not incomprehensible in the same way the swarm of corruption was to her. When she saw the deluge of distortion and bright colors pour out of the crater in the earth, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, because she had never seen such a sight before.
They were creatures that existed beyond her comprehension. It was unlike anything she had ever imagined when she was told about the corruption by Salvos. And Edithe finally understood why the Kobolds were so fearful of the end of the world.
So it was incomprehension that stemmed from witnessing something she couldn’t possibly have imagined.
But right now, her incomprehension for what she saw was born from having only imagined seeing such a scene from her dreams. After all, there wasn’t just one Supreme Spirit engaged in battle before her. There were over a dozen of them.
Edithe stared at the small army of [Ophanims] descending from the guy, sending beams of iridescent light down into the outpouring corruption. Each blast eradicated almost all the smaller corrupted entities that were swarming the landscape. And even the smaller Corrupted Heavenspaces were destroyed from the pillars of destruction.
As a child, Edithe could have only dreamt of what a Supreme Spirit looked like. In fact, she would lie in bed, imagining summoning one to battle— like she was Melissa the Oracle of Light, challenging the Demon King to a duel.
And only in her wildest dreams, did she ever think of being capable of summoning perhaps two Supreme Spirits. After all, the idea of summoning more than that was too ridiculous, even for a child to imagine.
The highest-leveled Humans in the world right now peaked at just above Level 150. And there were only said to be two Humans in history to have reached over Level 200. So she always thought that only the Spirit Lord and perhaps his most elite guards were of the same level.
But right now, that belief was completely washed away as the [Ophanim] sent another blast down into the swarm of corruption. Edithe expected to reel from the attack— to recoil from the sheer force of the blast like she did when the Archangel destroyed the crystalline fortress.
However, these beams of light fired by the [Ophanim] didn’t even touch the ground. They didn’t ravage the landscape, nor did they send a pulse that even rippled through the air. All they did was purge the corruption from the world— eradicating the distortion that filled the sky and earth.
Edithe was left gaping at this sight.
“Just what are they? Where did they even come from?”
The redhead asked as her head spun, watching as another Corrupted Heavenspace was ripped apart. And from the side, a voice spoke up.
“They’re the [Ophanim]...”
Willy whispered. Edithe turned to face him as the [Ophanims] continued to purge the corruption from the world.
“The Vanguard of the Spirit Lord.”
Willy finished, and Edithe’s eyes grew wide.
“Vanguard…?”
She looked towards the dozen or so [Ophanim] there as she tried to register this. That meant these weren’t even the Spirit Lord’s strongest soldiers. They were simply the ones that were sent out first.
As the Archangel cursed, watching the corruption he freed be destroyed, the largest of the Corrupted Heavenspaces flew straight up at the nearest [Ophanim]— the very same one that was struck by the Archangel’s attack just earlier— and it coiled its tendrils around the giant wheel.
Edithe heard a low groaning noise as the wheels were slowly ripped apart, revealing a giant burning eye floating on the inside of the wheels. The largest of the Corrupted Heavenspaces slowly reached for the inside of the [Ophanim], but the other [Ophanims] turned their gazes towards its threatened comrade.
And all at once, all of the [Ophanims] unleashed their pillars of light at the Corrupted Heavenspace and their comrade. Edithe winced, thinking that they had just killed the [Ophanim] too.
But as the flash of light faded away and the largest of the Corrupted Heavenspaces peeled off the [Ophanim] it was attacking… Edithe’s eyes went wide. The [Ophanim] was left unscathed by its allies’ blasts. All the while, the largest of the Corrupted Heavenspaces disintegrated to nothing.
Upon seeing that, the Archangel flew up to face the [Opanims] as it shouted.
“I’ve had enough of you annoying pests!”
The Archangel let go of its iridescent blade, and the weapon faded away. Slowly, the [Ophanims] turned to face it. The iridescent light in their eyes shifted, turning red. But before they could attack the Archangel, it raised its hands in the air.
Clapping, the Archangel grinned and whispered, its voice washing over the entire landscape.
“[Crucifixion].”
Edithe blinked, and suddenly the sky turned dark. It was a sudden shift, she almost thought she was transported to another world. But the landscape didn’t change. Even as the wind howled and the ground beneath the Archangel cracked open.
And emerging from the broken earth was a temple— larger than any temple Edithe had ever seen. It ascended to right below the [Ophanims] as their many eyes darted down to stare at it. Even the corruption slowed to stare at this monolithic structure.
But before anyone could react to the sudden appearance of this giant temple, the entire structure collapsed.
Right as it did, three of the [Ophanims]— including the foremost one which was attacked by the Corrupted Heavenspace— were suddenly and rapidly ripped apart. Their wheels were shattered, and the flames coating their eyeball-like bodies flickered out.
Giant crosses made out wood shot down from the sky, pinning these three [Ophanims] to the ground. And before they could even try to break free, an ethereal figure that resembled the Archangel itself appeared before them, carrying a burning lance. It stabbed all three of the [Ophanims] one after another, before fading away.
And as the three [Ophanims] were left there to die, their bodies began to rapidly wither. Clouds passed through the sky like months were passing in mere moments. Overgrowth began to overcome the remains of the temple as the corpses of the three Supreme Spirits rotted.
Before this scene ended in an instant.
Blinking, Edithe found herself back under the green sky of the Spirit Plane. Any signs of the temple or the hole in the ground were gone. The only proof that anything had even happened were the three rotting eyeballs of the [Ophanim] that had been targeted by the Archangel.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
The Archangel laughed, spreading its arms wide as the remaining [Ophanim] turned to face it. Behind the Archangel, more and more corruption came pouring out into the world, no longer being purged by the Supreme Spirits.
Because their attention was drawn entirely only to the Archangel.
Another massive Corrupted Heavenspace crawled out of the hole in the ground as Edithe pursed her lips. If it was only a battle between the corruption and the [Ophanims], she was certain they would have prevailed, despite the seemingly unending outpouring of the corruption.
But with the Archangel’s presence…
Her eyes narrowed as she caught a glimpse of something moving at the ground below. The three dead [Ophanims] began to twitch where they lay, their bodies slowly beginning to rebuild themselves. Their flames relit. Like they were being given a second chance at life.
“What is happening?”
Edithe asked as she stared at this scene.
But the Archangel took notice of this too. It just glanced back dismissively and snapped a finger.
“[Rapture].”
All at once, all three of the three reviving [Ophanims] vanished. Like they never existed in the first place.
Edithe couldn’t even react to what she just saw. She was at a complete loss for words. Three Supreme Spirits had been killed before her very eyes, just like that. And it almost looked like they were coming back to life, before they were completely erased from existence.
How could she react? It was like she was an ant watching giants collide. This was a battle that was far beyond her capabilities of comprehension.
And it was not just her who was in a daze. Willy, Druma, and Centina had remained silent all throughout as the battle progressed.
Edithe didn’t know what was going to happen next— she didn’t know what she hoped to happen next. All she knew was that she could just watch. So watch she did as the Archangel spread its arms wide and faced the remaining [Ophanims] floating before it.
“HAHAHAHA! YOU ARE ALL SO WEAK COMPARED TO ME! I WILL KILL YOU ALL—”
But the Archangel suddenly froze. The glowing red light of the [Ophanims] slowly faded away, and they drifted back. No— it looked like they were almost… bowing?
Edithe didn’t understand what was happening. But she watched as the Archangel slowly turned around, its gaze facing towards a figure on the ground.
A man.
A… Human?
He looked no different than any ordinary man Edithe would meet back in the Human Lands. He had brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a set of white robes that was almost akin to what [Priests] would wear. Except, his garments were far more plain and simple.
He stood there, right before the crater storming with the outpouring corruption. But he wasn’t afraid— not even of the Corrupted Heavenspace rising out of the hole in the ground behind him. He stood there with an expressionless face as the [Ophanims] bowed to him and the corruption ignored him.
And next to Edithe, Druma backed away with round eyes, while Willy’s flames turned white in fear.
“Who is that?”
Edithe asked, staring at the man. And as the Archangel stared at him too, its lips twisted into a crazed smile.
“That is—”
Druma started. But he was cut off as the Archangel exclaimed.
“So you have finally decided to face me yourself, Soli!”
Edithe blinked, hearing that name she had never heard before. Centina glanced around in confusion too. And Willy continued, almost bowing his body in reverence.
“That is the Spirit Lord.”
[??? - ???]
Author's Notes:
What thonk?
Comments
Danijel Turina
That sounds like something that might actually work - trees feed on spirit shit, fruits of spirit trees are baby spirits.
Danijel Turina
We know so ridiculously little, all kinds of things can make some kind of a sense. :)
Danijel Turina
"what skills would Salvos learn if she finally decided to dabble in the other elements as well?" - hard to say, but if I had to guess based on a precedent, she didn't have any Soul Magic skills before [Truth Divination], and she almost immediately became extremely strong in it. Also, the first supersensory skill she got was so powerful she almost died, but soon became proficient and it gives her incredible abilities. She basically found Haec in the middle of nowhere based on a hunch that he might be close to anything that felt like Regnorex's Divinity. As it happens, Haec copied that Divinity into his GS and she found him instantly. That's an insane level of ability for someone who basically just got that stuff recently. If she got a healing skill, I guess she would become the best healer around in no time; if she learned geomancy or whatever earth magic is called, I would expect likewise. Apparently, when you're this high levelled with such a vast span of abilities already, mastery of something new comes very quickly, and you start basically at lvl 150 skill level, not at lvl 10.
Travis Brown
Doesn’t salvos also have some unused skill slots too
Danijel Turina
The thing is, we've been watching a very content rich timeline in a very slow motion. She basically fought Hartia 3 days ago. 36 hours ago she recharged his grand skill, and it's no wonder nobody has time to stop and think, let alone practice magic. She still has her [Divine Essence] active and will need to use it to deal with the assembled hostile forces in the next few hours. If we're to judge based on when the timelines intersect, in 36 hours something major happens where everything converges. Essentially, it's good she's not human because she wouldn't have enough time to take a shit, let alone go to another plane to level. Using the time chamber to evolve skills, cool down GS and generally have the time to think things through is a good idea, and I wonder if she'll actually need it. However, so many things require her personal attention I kind of doubt it. She needs to immediately deal with the legions and kill some lvl 190s in order to level more, because that's a priority. However, beyond that levelling is slow work; you basically need to find high-enough-levelled opponents, fight them, recover, repeat, and she only has a day and a half until the timelines converge. I would say she has one minor and one major fight ahead of her. The minor one is that dozen of legion heads that Jofis left in order to get himself killed. The major one is Focalor, whom Regnorex will send to deal with this, and she'll have to fight him while trying to get him awake. Fortunately, her [Flames] will likely cool down by then, because she's going to get a thrashing she didn't see since Great Agarus. I hope for both their sakes it reaches a non-lethal end, but she might level seriously from that, regardless.
Travis Brown
Earlier in the series I was wondering something similars to that, my prediction was that Alexander somehow demonified himself into regnorex
Dragonmaster_42
Wait a sec, what skills would Salvos learn if she finally decided to dabble in the other elements as well? Would she start at the beginning? At the level of one evolution back? Would she only get general skills and no active skills at all?
Dragonmaster_42
I had that thought some time ago as well. The difference about tier 7 (?) skills is that they have their own skill points and that they seem to evolve even further when the owner catches up. Also, not all skill evolved on the previous evolutions, so the wall seems to be much clearer from primeval to primordial
Dragonmaster_42
I already mentioned it a few times, but all those points of conflict are prime sources of experience. I might not necessarily see her in the war with the elves, but the netherified fields and especially the centinel attack have juicy targets. Using [Salvo of Vanity] actively across the planes could also lead it to evolve, boosting her search speed in the netherworld. And to be honest, given what [Cluster Time Dilation] can do, she would be best off to use it for her own training, be it personally or through clones. After all, the writing is already on the wall that stopping Reggie is just a stopgap measure to fend of the corruption and then the world walkers. She needs to level, she needs to power up and prepare to fight the corruption. Reggie will fall on the side.
Danijel Turina
I mean, it's all relative. To those lvl 40-70 demons in the Legions, the difference between Salvos and Archangel would be negligible, and her normal skills are earth-shattering terror.
Dragonmaster_42
I can't wait for that to apply to Salvos as well!
Dragonmaster_42
I don't think the battle will be fought to the end. Some circumstance will force the different sides apart. Maybe Soli's skill will throw Archangel, Edithe&co across the planes? Or the Archangel flees when he sees Soli's power, getting Edithe&co wrapped up?
Danijel Turina
She probably thinks "Nah, they're fine, the danger is on this side", and she's actually not completely wrong. What Regnorex is doing is actually a priority problem, but Edithe and her team might need a lift real soon, because excrement hitting the impeller in 3, 2, ....
Dragonmaster_42
I bet it's the opposite in some strange way. Maybe the vegetation in the spirit realm grows from spirit excrement and once a plant reaches a certain age, it hatches into a spirit. Maybe the trees are spirits below level 10
Dragonmaster_42
The worst part is, Salvos currently has absolutely no idea about all the shit that's going down! She should at least take a peek occasionally! Maybe she couldn't before, but come on! [Riftwalk]!
Dragonmaster_42
Hey Melas! Thanks for the chapter! How are you doing? To be honest, I was (still am) a bit worried because of how long you didn't post. Are you doing all right?
Danijel Turina
It would be so funny if the Archangel turned out to be Melissa. :)
Danijel Turina
Reggie has an inferiority complex the size of his castle. Soli, on the other hand, looks really powerful. He reacts to problems the way you'd expect Samuel or Salvos to react - if your people seem to have a problem with it, go out and deal with it yourself. Also, if you need a big castle and a throne to let everybody know you're a king, you're probably there by accident.
Danijel Turina
Yes. I mean, of all the times when they could have arrived to have a friendly chat and try to convince the Archangel to help them, they arrived ahead of a battle, that escalated into a bigger battle, that looks like it's about to turn into Armageddon. Yeah, nice timing. :)
43110T
chances are we wont see that till next book, it looks like after edithe's part the book will be over and once the next book starts we'll probably see daniel after training, mavos, and maybe edithe again
Danijel Turina
I wish Salvos had an [Angelic Premonition] blare when her companions are in danger so she could rift them the fuck out of Dodge.
Travis Brown
I wonder if the spirit realm has something similar to the cycles of advent for when new spirits are born
Travis Brown
Edith could not have come at a worse time
Danijel Turina
I would expect only the [Seraphim] and [Cherubim] to be above the [Ophanim], and considering what they are facing the wisely decided to deal with it himself rather than have the best of his people die. Unlike Regnorex, who by now lost most of his council and presumably his entire army of Legions because he couldn't be bothered.
Travis Brown
I almost forgot Samuel saying that every skill will be on the lvl of grand skills
Użytkownik Przeciętny
Eh, I dont like that we jumped to Spirit Lord right away, when Ophanim were only a vanguard so there are steps above them before the SLord. Pity we dont meet them first.
Angworu
I realy feel like we are gonna loose someone now
Zuuuuuri
How many more arch angel parts are there…? I really want to see the titles and skills…
Danijel Turina
She needs to learn the ancient skill of gtfo.
Danijel Turina
Oh, this is about to get really interesting. :) Also, considering his subdued appearance, I'd say Soli is *really* powerful. Only someone near-omnipotent would choose to look so plain and simple.
Tim
Wow the Spirit Lord actually comes out himself, unlike Reggie who stays at his home base.
Lazy Monster
This is interesting, not sure how Edithe will get any help with this going on. PS. I think I found a typo Edithe stared at the small army of [Ophanims] descending from the guy I think it’s supposed to be sky
Cliff246
Damn Edithe dead
Mikolai
Yeeess, finally a new chapter
